Tom Aspinall was on the verge of quitting.
The heavyweight phenom had racked up five straight wins after migrating to Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) back in summer 2020, slowly but surely inching his way toward a 265-pound title shot.
Then disaster struck.
Aspinall obliterated his knee just 15 seconds into his UFC London main event opposite heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes. And just like that, all the work the power-punching Brit had put into his combat sports career came to a screeching halt.
“Depressing, horrendous … absolutely horrendous,” Aspinall told Full Circle with bet365. “It made me want to quit the sport for a little while. For a couple of days (after the injury) I didn’t want to carry on. I fell out with everything and everyone for a little. It’s just not very nice mate, it’s just horrendous — lay on the floor on your back in front of 22,000 of your own fans with a knee that is numb, locked up, being unable to move it and knowing that I was supposed to go away.
“I was supposed to go and see family in Poland for about a month, I was going to do a little tour of Poland see family and friends and everything, the Mrs. was already out there with the kids and I had to cancel that. I had to go down to London and get surgery, recover for a year, and it’s not ideal. I thought I’m going to get a big old win bonus and go and enjoy myself in Poland and see the family and friends for like a month It wasn’t meant to be, but to be honest I’m really grateful that it happened because I’m way different now in a more positive light. I’m really happy with everything.”
“When I got injured I decided listen, I’m all in on this stuff now and I’m completely all in,” Aspinall continued. “Everything’s right, the training is going to be right, the people around me are going to be 100-percent working towards where I’m going, my diet’s going to be right, my preparation’s going to be right, my sleep’s going to be right. Everything.
“Everything that I can do, because if I do take a loss along the way, I can at least look myself in the mirror and go listen, I tried my absolute best and I came up short. I honestly think, cameras on or off, no matter who I’m talking to and I’m not saying it for hype, I’m not saying it to big myself up; I honestly think I can be the best heavyweight in the world.”
After spending a year in rehabilitation, Aspinall made a triumphant return to the Octagon at UFC London last July, smashing Marcin Tybura and recapturing some of his heavyweight hype. Now Aspinall will have a chance to claim the interim title against Sergei Pavlovich in the UFC 295 co-main event on Nov. 11 in New York.
After that?
A potential “dream fight” against heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who is expected to return from injury at some point in mid-2024.
“I’d love to fight Jon Jones, that is my dream fight,” Aspinall said. “I would love that because he’s one of my absolute heroes of the sport and yeah, I’d just love it. Do I believe it’s going to happen? I believe in a lot of stuff in my career, and I also believe that me believing in it helps me get stuff too.”
“I’m one of them weirdos who manifests things and if I set my intentions on something and believe in it strongly enough and work towards it, then everything’s kind of going in the right path and it it’s got more chance of happening,” Aspinall continued. “I do believe that. Do I believe Jon Jones is going to stick around and I’m going to get my dream fight with him? I don’t know, I’m not 100-percent convinced that he’s going to stick around to be honest with you.”
For much more on Aspinall’s upcoming fight at UFC 295 click here.